As an interpreter, I help doctors who speak English communicate with Spanish-speaking patients.
My family moved to the United States from Cuba when I was two years old. Cuba is the largest Spanish speaking island in the Caribbean sea, only 90 miles away from Florida. I am the oldest daughter, and I have two younger sisters. My parents taught me three things: one, how to speak Spanish; two, the importance of school; and three, that I can do anything if I put my mind to it. For these reasons, after working this past summer and thanks to a scholarship called Gilman, I have been able to study abroad in Madrid, Spain, which is 4,124 miles away from my home. As I said before, education has always been important to our family because my parents never had the chance to go to college. That means that I am the first person in my family to go to college. Spending this fall semester in Madrid is a dream come true because I love to learn about the world and sometimes, as a first-generation college student, these opportunities do not seem possible— but they are!
During my time in Madrid, I want to learn not only about Spain’s extensive history (Spain is about 506 years old) but also about other European countries. One of the things that has made me excited about studying abroad is going to places like Paris, France, and Athens, Greece. In addition to traveling, I am looking forward to many of my classes that I am taking here, which are not offered at Xavier, so they are unique! I also hope that by going through this once-in-a-lifetime journey with me, you will learn about Spanish and European culture along with me, so please, feel free to write down or ask any questions that you are curious about.
